Turn a Raw Idea into
A Defensible Research Question
4 AI minds, one workflow. Built on FINER, PICO / PEO / SPIDER, and 20+ behaviour-change theories — from raw idea to publication-ready question, hypothesis, and theory framework.
AI question minds — Question, FINER, Hypothesis, Theory
FINER criteria audited per question
behaviour-change theories searchable
Scholar Pro · 5,000 AI points / month
How QuestMinds works
From raw idea to defensible question
Eight chained steps across four AI minds. Outputs flow forward — design informs framework choice; question feeds hypothesis; variables map to theory.
Raw Idea & Study Design
Inputs
AI action
Output
Predicted design (RCT, cohort, qualitative, mixed-methods…) with a confidence band.
PICO / PEO / SPIDER Components
Inputs
AI action
Output
Framework-aware component extraction — PICO for quant, PEO/SPIDER for qual, JBI for reviews.
Question Drafts (3 versions)
Inputs
AI action
Output
3 publication-grade question variants — comparative / explanatory / exploratory tone.
FINER Audit
Inputs
AI action
Output
Feasibility / Interest / Novelty / Ethics / Relevance scoring with refinement suggestions.
Variable Deconstruction
Inputs
AI action
Output
Independent / dependent / mediator / moderator / control variables, with operational definitions.
Hypothesis H1 / H0 + Audit
Inputs
AI action
Output
Directional / non-directional H1 + matching H0 with statistical notation; quality audit.
Theory Discovery
Inputs
AI action
Output
Top-3 theory candidates (TPB, HBM, SCT, COM-B, Diffusion…) with fit-score and citations.
Framework Generation + Audit
Inputs
AI action
Output
Publication-grade theoretical-framework section with construct-to-variable mapping.
4 question minds
Four AI minds. One coherent workflow.
Use each mind solo for a specific need, or run the unified Research Quest flow to chain them end-to-end with shared context.
Question Mind
Idea → Design → Components → 3 Drafts
Design Predictor
Maps idea to RCT / cohort / qual / mixed-methods.
Protocol Builder
PICO / PEO / SPIDER component extraction.
Drafting Engine
Three publication-grade question variants.
FINER Audit
Embedded FINER scoring per draft.
FINER Mind
Feasible · Interesting · Novel · Ethical · Relevant
Entry
Paste any question — quant or qual.
Audit
Deterministic 5-criterion scoring rubric.
Refine
AI rewrites for weak criteria with diffs.
Validate
Exportable FINER certificate for protocols.
Hypothesis Mind
Variables → H1 / H0 with statistical notation
Variable Logic
IV / DV / mediators / moderators deconstructed.
Strategy
Pick H1 type — directional, non-directional, null.
Draft H1/H0
Statistical notation alongside English form.
Audit
Specificity, falsifiability, alignment checks.
Synopsis
Hypothesis section for your protocol.
Theory Mind
TPB · HBM · SCT · COM-B · 20+ frameworks
Context
Question + variables become search context.
Discovery
Top-3 theory candidates with fit scores.
Mapping
Theory constructs → your variables.
Framework
Publication-grade framework section.
Audit
Coverage, fit, and citation completeness.
Framework coverage
Every question framework
your reviewers know
The right framework auto-selects from your design. Switch any time — components re-flow.
Why this matters
Your question,
with a FINER second opinion
Other tools
Hand you a question. That's it.
If the AI overstates novelty, hides feasibility risk, or skips an ethics flag — you don't find out until your supervisor or IEC reads it. By then, you've wasted weeks on a question that won't survive review.
QuestMinds
AI drafts. FINER rubric audits.
Question Mind drafts three variants. FINER Mind then scores each independently against a deterministic 5-criterion rubric — Feasibility, Interest, Novelty, Ethics, Relevance. Disagreements between draft confidence and audit score get flagged before you commit.
- Independent audit — drafting and scoring run as separate AI calls.
- Deterministic rubric — same question, same score.
- Refinement suggestions for the weakest criterion, with diffs.
- Feasibility7 / 10
Adequate sample available; 12-month timeline tight.
- Interest9 / 10
Strong stakeholder + journal interest.
- Novelty6 / 10
Adjacent work exists — refine on Indian sub-population.
- Ethics9 / 10
Low-risk; minor consent-flow refinement suggested.
- Relevance8 / 10
Aligns with NHM priority; clear public-health pathway.
Flagged
Novelty at 6/10 — refine on Indian sub-population, or cite three nearest priors before submission.
Plans
Simple pricing
Access 1m
15,000 Mindful AI Tokens
- All 4 question minds
- FINER + PICO / PEO / SPIDER
- Theory framework export
Access 2m
15,000 Mindful AI Tokens / month
- Everything in 1m
- Priority AI throughput
- Save ₹99 vs monthly
Access 3m
15,000 Mindful AI Tokens / month
- Everything in 2m
- Quarterly thesis cadence
- Save ₹198 vs monthly
FAQ
Frequently asked questions
Common questions from PhD scholars, supervisors, and journal reviewers.
Can I use this for qualitative research questions?
Yes. The design predictor detects qualitative work and switches the component extractor to PEO, SPIDER, ECLIPSE, or JBI PICo automatically. The unified flow also skips hypothesis formulation for qual questions and routes straight from FINER audit to theory framework.
How do you discover relevant theories?
Theory Mind takes your research question plus independent and dependent variables, then surfaces the top-3 theoretical candidates (TPB, HBM, SCT, COM-B, Diffusion of Innovations, and 15+ others) with a fit-score and citations. You can override the choice or run discovery again with refined variables.
Does FINER actually catch novelty problems?
The audit runs novelty as an independent criterion — not bundled with interest. It checks for adjacent prior work and flags when a question is too close to published literature. Suggestions guide you toward a defensible novelty angle (population, setting, mechanism, comparator).
Can I export to a protocol or synopsis template?
Yes. Each mind exports DOCX / PDF / Markdown for its own section. The unified Research Quest flow produces a combined Aims & Objectives section that drops directly into your protocol or synopsis template.
What if my supervisor wants a different question framework?
Every framework is switchable from a single dropdown. PICO → PICOT → PECO → PEO → SPIDER → JBI PICo all share the same chip-based component editor. Switching reflows your components rather than restarting.
Do I need to use all 4 minds, or can I use them solo?
Both. Use Question Mind alone if you only need question drafts. Use FINER Mind alone to audit a question you wrote elsewhere. The unified Research Quest flow is optional — it chains all 4 minds when you want end-to-end coherence with shared context.
What hypothesis types are supported?
H1 (alternative) and H0 (null), directional vs non-directional, simple vs complex, statistical vs research. Hypothesis Mind shows both English and statistical-notation forms side-by-side, and the audit verifies falsifiability, specificity, and alignment with your design.
Will my data be used for AI training?
No. Your research artefacts stay in your account on the shared rsminds Firestore database. We never train models on user data. PII is redacted before any AI call. Exports are yours to keep even after subscription ends.
Are the free guides actually free?
Yes — no signup, no paywall. The FINER, Rationale, and Hypothesis guides at /flow-minds/ are 13-page reference documents readable anonymously. AI copilot tools require Scholar Pro.
How does QuestMinds connect to the rest of RSMinds?
Your question, hypothesis, theory framework, and variables sync automatically to design.rsminds.com, rct.rsminds.com, and other downstream subdomains via shared Firebase Auth and the rsminds Firestore database. Start in QuestMinds, continue anywhere.
Draft your research question in 10 minutes.
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